Are they all junior IC level low balls, or is this accidentally revealing why staff level+ engineers aren't getting calls?
I'll be honest and say if tomorrow morning I get laid off, I'm not expecting my current pay to get matched.
> And yeah, not getting the 20% pay bump between job hops that I'm looking for.
That kind of answers my question lol. This isn't the environment where I'd consider not getting a pay bump a low ball.
And ironically that mentality is what I infer when I hear stories like OP's: These companies assume that people from certain backgrounds have expectations forged in a much more favorable market, and they'd rather not waste their time interviewing someone looking for a 20% pay bump in a down market...